New Engine

[rjtedge]

Can someone please tell me where abouts I might be able to pick up an Astra Turbo engine. I would like to convvert(partly for performance partly for just showing I can) the engine to a turbo. Where in melbourne would I be able to pick one up. OR is it possible to put another higher performing engine in? Which ones?

Thanks

I have a 1.8L 1999 man

[InsaneAsylum]

you'll need to wait until somone writes their astra turbo off, or buy the motor brand new from holden... bear in mind that the turbo manifold alone cost 1300 from holden.

it would be better taking your car to AVO or wherever and converting your 1.8 to turbo... or building your own turbo kit. cost will depend on desired power and reliability. it has been done before by at least 2 people on these boards.

alternatively you could pick up something like a FWD sr20det from a nissan bluebird or GTIR (still EW configuration even though it's 4wd) and spending a lot of money engineering and having installed into an astra.

as for parts, etc. bennet st. wreckers in bennet st. dandenong have an abundance of opel parts, and great service too.

[astra_city]

yeah one of those guys who turboed his 1.8 was making something like 140kw+ ATW which is pretty healthy power 8) Both options would be veery expensive though.

[InsaneAsylum]

140kw at the wheels was with forged low compression (8.5:1) pistons and a programmed aftermarket engine management system. great gains though, but just letting rjtedge know what's involved

[rjtedge]

So what sort of price would the turbo fot the astra be? Is AVO in Melbourne? What sort of Modifications do you think would be best?

[Skibum]

You could try to post an enquiry on astra-sri.co.uk as there are plenty of turbos in the UK :mrgreen:

[astra_city]

140kw at the wheels was with forged low compression (8.5:1) pistons and a programmed aftermarket engine management system. great gains though, but just letting rjtedge know what's involved

Thanks for clearing that up, I just remembered it had 140kw atw...didn't think that the stock internals would cope that well though. The 10.5:1 compression of the 1.8 doesn't help either when turboing.

Trying contacting Avo like you said, they do a lot of turbo kits.

[InsaneAsylum]

yeah AVO is in cheltenham

they should be in the yellow pages.
i can't tell you how much they charge but i'm guessing close to
$10000 drive in drive out


"What sort of Modifications do you think would be best?"

that's a tough question as there are many variables. ie. choosing the right turbo for the desired amount of power. how long will the standard engine internals survive?

you can bolt on a turbo, intercooler, sort out the oil feeds and the fuelling and have a nice streetable turbocharged car with a smooth linear boost curve, or put a huge turbo on, don't worry about fuelling or intercooling and you'll have a naturally aspirated car that creates boost at about 5000rpm and then smashes your engine internals... like I said, lots of variables

[WindeX]

I know that many people love their cars and opel are mad and all but have you thought of something Jap? You could pick up a Pulsar SSS and have a import SR20DET put into it for around $3,000. But props to you if you do go ahead and do it.

[rjtedge]

Ok well all I want is to be able to make my car beat a Commodor VT 1999. RedBook has it down for 147kw(not sure if this is at the wheels).

What do you guys think? I am new at this modding thing but I realy need to beat my mates COMMODORE VT Sedan Executive 4dr Man 5sp 3.8i. What do I need to do.

Thank for all the help. I am loving this forum, so much info.

[InsaneAsylum]

ahh ok.. if you want to beat a commodore, i'd start with a good quality pod filter (K&N etc) , 2.25" exhaust with high flow cat and straight through mufflers. higher output cams and a unichip or some way to remap the fuel system, only use 98RON fuel. remember the commodore has at least 200kg more weight to lug around.

also when you run him, remove your spare tyre and anything else that contributes to the weight of the car. if you get new wheels, make sure they're lightweight alloy racing wheels. semi comp tyres cost a fortune (something like falken azenis ST215) but you'll be able to maintain traction a lot better than with cheaper/lesser quality tyres.

stiffer rear suspension will also help maintain traction in a FWD car.

if you turbocharged the astra, it would kill the commodore, but i guess then he could use the excuse that if he turbo'd his commodore, he'd beat you...

[rjtedge]

good quality pod filter (K&N etc) , 2.25" exhaust with high flow cat and straight through mufflers. higher output cams and a unichip or some way to remap the fuel system

Cool thanks, Any Idea of the power I would be looking at with this, How many KW just a rough estimate. I really got turned off the turbo with the $10000+ price tag, will this cost about the same? Are you in Vic nsaneAsylum? do you know of a good place to try for these mods?

[astra_city]

So the commodore is manual? If it was an auto you would be able to beat him with just a new intake, I have dragged a few now and won every time. Although manual is a different story.
I'm estimating the engien mods InsaneAsylum recommended you do would cost around $3-4k, probably closer to $4k. You could maybe get approx 110kw with these installed. These are all guesses though!

[rjtedge]

cool, now thats a better price. Thanks

Oh and I am very happy cos he is looking at getting a auto and selling the manual. Well this is good. Does any one know how to work out how much power a car has at the wheels from the power at the engine?

[InsaneAsylum]

look the 10grand was an estimate, i can't give you an actual figure. the best thing is to call AVO in cheltenham or turboworx in tullamarine and actually get a quote. i'd never put someone off a turbo conversion as it's what i like to see, people actually going nuts with opels and breaking some jap import drivers egos.


... you could always offer to shout him a "tank of fuel" and when you go to fill it up, just put water in there... that's just sinister though, but you'll beat him after his car stalls :mrgreen:

[M40COO]

RJtedge, sorry I should have answered this in Astra-Sport,

You should also think about replacing the inlet manifold.
The factory inlet manifold is complicated and restricts the airflow by quite a lot, this was done to keep the power and the emissions down.

A few german tuners offer units to replace it all:
Mantzel, Lexmaul & Dbilas.

As an example, the dbilas one gives the

Astra G, 1,8 16V 85kW X18XE1 1 23kw increase, price in euros 1364,00
Astra G, 1,8 16V 92kW Z18XE 1 16kw increase, price in euros 1245,50

http://www.dbilas.de/English/dbilas_X18XE1.jpg

Doing this and the other mods mentioned should really boost your power. :P

[rjtedge]

look the 10grand was an estimate, i can't give you an actual figure. the best thing is to call AVO in cheltenham or turboworx in tullamarine and actually get a quote. i'd never put someone off a turbo conversion as it's what i like to see, people actually going nuts with opels and breaking some jap import drivers egos.

I understand that it was an estimate and I am by no means not going to do it, its just I am 17 and a student with a lack of this money. I think I will still give AVO a call and see what they say but I imagin that you wont be far from the mark.



You should also think about replacing the inlet manifold.
The factory inlet manifold is complicated and restricts the airflow by quite a lot, this was done to keep the power and the emissions down.

I am guessing this is similar to the reason the air box is full of crap to restrict the air flow.
The prices are going to work out to be about $2k-3k plus the cost to import(guessing again that no local imported ones). Is there anyone in Aus that have a similar product. Or anyone that would be willing to do a custom job.

[Jass]

There was a guy here that had a 1.8L Astra with a turbo kit on his car, which i think he sold in parts.

140kw is very good. Very expensive thought to do this mod. Specially internal work needed to lower the compression a set of custom forged pistons for the astra will be costing you around 1100 bucks alone, that's without the labour of pulling the block off.

[ultim8DTM5]

Do what KID_SRi did, grab a Z22SE and build it up, either forced induction or N/A. For N/A theres heaps of intakes and quad throttles available from Europe which should take you around the 140kw mark with change compared to what a new Z20LET costs. KID_SRi bought his for <$1k from a 03 Zaffy, but he did go round to the yard and pulled it out himself so saved some coinage there.

Z22SEs are much easier to source too- they come in Zafira's as well as Astra SRi's so more chances of finding a wreck.

Economically you know it makes sense, I'm Sam Kekovich :lol:

[rjtedge]

Shit. Now that sounds good. as I have never done any of this how much changing do you think will need to take place under the hood?
What price would I be looking for a forced induction?

[ultim8DTM5]

Would you be doing any of the work yourself?
Labour would be the killer X-Factor, at the moment I would look to one of two options:

1) Buy a 2.2 and build it outside of the car over time then drop it in
2) Sell up bite the bullet and buy an SRi 2.2 and be done with it

Can anyone confirm if the 1,8 and the 2,2 share the same F23 gearbox?

For forced induction you would be looking in the region of $8k without things such as larger brakes and other necessities like engineering! Supercharging may work out cheaper but with less gains.

Realistically I would budget about $15k for a turbo Z22SE in your car, running less than 15psi boost for around 150kw, the key here being some sort of reliability not some tack-on job and rolling out with an engineer's approval.

Like you say you're 17 and a student so maybe take option 1. You don't lose your daily driver and have something to tinker with DIY-style overtime when you can afford to. Don't give up I'm at the arse-end of a similar project budget wise and in similar circumstances to yourself. Lots of award wage hours can make it happen!

[NUTTTR]

Different gearbox for the 1.8L........
Turbo and 2.2 share the same box with different ratio's tho........
A manual SRi 2.2L kills commo's........ it CAN'T kill a supercharged 6, but the 6 will have trouble getting away from you that's for sure........
to give you an idea, i dragged an adventura off the lights (auto 5.7L V8 - heavy but does 0-100 in 7.9sec) and he spun wheels between auto changes and he had trouble (after 100m) of being able to pull in front of me (lane ended) and only JUST made it past me by millimeters (like, his rear bumper just missed my front)....
I've got a manual 2.2L, they are QUICK cars, but a few mods (cam and intake and remap and exhaust would get you HUGE gains as they are all restrictive) would get you excellent results!!!!
I'd say sell your car and buy a 2.2L, it's not really worth the trouble changing engine's over!

[sir-sri]

The Adventra had all four wheels spinning between gear changes.....?

[ultim8DTM5]

Probably chirp'd maybe?

[sir-sri]

If it was dry i'd be surprised. Although they do have a 60/40 split don't they, perhaps a rear chirped.

[rjtedge]

Ok I think I may wait a bit and save my pennys and just get a 2.2L SRi. I think for the gains it would provide it may not be worth it. Will think about it and will tell you guys what I think.
If anyone can come up with a nice way to drop a 2.2L in with out heaps and heaps of hassels then please tell me.

[ultim8DTM5]

Heaps and heaps of hassles = heaps of money? ;)

I was going to do the same conversion with my Barina, because you can't go out and buy a 2.2L Barina can you? It would still hold its own against many modified SRi's so seemed a much smarter conversion in my view. I'm not going ahead with it now simply because its something I'll do in the future and not just yet.

However, with Astra's, it doesn't seem logical to put in a 2.2 when a model came stock with the 2.2 already in. Kinda like buying a Commodore Executive and deciding you want to put an LS1 V8 in. Why do things the hard way? :mrgreen:

[blackastra]

Sent you a PM rjtedge

[blueraven]

nitrous?
less than a grand to buy, a few hundred to get it tuned..and off you go ;)

[ultim8DTM5]

Smart lad :)
50hp kit is the way to go.

[BoostedAstra]

I had an adventra as a loan car from my dealership, They are large and heavy and bog down heaps on the take off. Good work in taking one out in a 2.2 Sri off the line, although i think on a rolling start the adventra would get ya......

Must admit I couldn't this auto to chirp/spin wheels, it only had 1500km on the clock.... Never own one but, off the throttle just coasting, the instant consumption was reg 6l/100km with an idle of 3.2l/100km :shock:

Gimme my turbo any day of the week